Batwoman recently returned to screens with a new face playing the titular caped crusader. In this season, Javicia Leslie takes up the mantle of Gotham's sassiest superhero following Ruby Rose's Kate Kane's disappearance.
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But why did Ruby Rose leave the series after just one season? Keep reading to find out…
Ruby announced that she was leaving the CW show last May, after filming just one season. In the statement, which she posted to Instagram, the actress didn't initially give a reason for her exit but said she had decided to stay "silent" over the matter.
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However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly just a few months later, the actress admitted that part of the reason for her exit was due to the serious injuries she sustained while shooting stunt work for the show.
In 2019, she was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after a stunt scene went wrong and left her with two herniated discs in her neck which nearly severed her spinal cord. While Ruby thankfully made a full recovery, she was at risk of becoming permanently paralysed.
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"Being the lead of a superhero show is tough," she said. "But I think, in that particular instance, it was a lot more difficult because I was still recovering from my surgery," she said.
"I had my surgery and then ten days later I went to work, which maybe wasn't the best idea. Most people take about a month or three off before they return to work, so it was definitely made more difficult by that."
© CWRuby played Kate Kane in the first season
The actress opened up further about her exit from the show when she appeared on The Jess Cagle Show in October, this time citing that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was also a contributing factor in her decision to leave.
She said: "We didn't get to finish the first season, which is such a shame, especially for a first season show. And then we went into lockdown with COVID and thinking of it in quarantine and lockdown, there was a lot of thought and reflection." She added that it made her reassess what she wants out of her life and career before she and producers "mutually agreed" to take the show in a different direction.
© CWJavicia Leslie takes up the mantle as Batwoman in season two
Following Ruby's departure from the superhero series, Javicia was cast as the new Batwoman. In the second season, which is airing on the CW now, she plays ex-convict Ryan Wilder who finds the Batsuit in among the ruins of a plane crash.
Discussing the role, she said: "I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honoured to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community."
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